Save Article

‘Sully’ Sullenberger’s Serene Texas Home

The pilot who safely landed a passenger jet on the Hudson River grew up in a family that prized calm and skills

Aug. 30, 2016 10:53 a.m. ET

Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, 65, was the captain of US Airways Flight 1549 that landed safely on New York’s Hudson River in January 2009, saving all 155 passengers and crew on board. The movie, “Sully,” starring Tom Hanks, opens Sept. 9. He spoke with Marc Myers.

The first time I forced myself to remain calm in a crisis I was 8. My family lived in Denison, Texas, where huge thunderstorms rolled through. One day, when the sky was the color of a bad bruise, my father was removing pane glass from one of our windows and the...